Page 6 of Tormented Diamonds
I feel my cheeks heat as my stomach plummets to my feet. I don’t know whether to drop to my knees and suck him off right here or dick punch the shit out of him.
A throat clears beside us. We both glance tothe left where a sweaty man with foggy glasses gives us a tepid smile. Gianni simply dips his chin, and the man launches into a scripted ceremony conspicuously void of any religious undertones.
But after the first few lines, it all becomes background noise. It’s not that I’m disparaging the seriousness of the moment. Quite the opposite. The gravity of what’s happening makes me think about everything that’s led up to this point. I think about Johnny Malone and our chance meeting in that courthouse hallway. I think about the moment I saw him in the lobby of my office. I think about our first kiss, and how I knew my life would never be the same.
And I realize Anton is right…
Maybe our liveshavebeen entangled since childhood. Maybe this has been my destiny all along. Maybe every road I’ve taken has led here…
To this moment.
To this man.
I turn to find the officiant staring at me, his words slowly fading back in.
“...take Giovanni Marchesi to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
Oh shit. Is it my turn? What am I supposed to say?
I blink, my heart racing. “I do?” Gianni’s eyebrow lifts, and I wince. “I mean, I do.”
A murmur sweeps through the small crowd as the officiant dips his chin at him. “Giovanni, place the ring on her finger and repeat after me. With this ring, I?—”
Gianni cuts him off with a wave of his hand. “Becca, I give you this ring as a promise to protect you and honor you until my last breath. From this moment on, you are a queen, theirs”—he glances at the onlookers, then pins me with a molten stare that takes my breath away—“and mine.L'amore è una macchiaindelebile sull'anima.”
Tears burn my eyes as he slides a silver ring on my finger. I gasp at the beautiful square diamond set high in the center. I can’t take my eyes off it, a swell of emotion washing over me— surprise, disbelief, confusion, hope … and then, panic.
“I don’t have anything.” I swallow hard. “I didn’t know I…”
He takes my other hand, and like a magician, a ring appears in my palm.
Of course, he bought his own ring.
I close my hand around it, feeling the weight of every eye on me. I didn’t expect him to go off script on the whole vow thing, so I take a deep breath and wing it. “I once told you that in order to change the person you are, you must remove the anchors holding you to the person you were.” My hand shakes as I slide the silver band on his finger. “I’m tossing all my anchors here, Gianni. Don’t let me float away.”
That stoic mask slips, and I see the fierce, protective face of Johnny Malone break through. Dropping my hand, he wraps his palm around the back of my neck and takes my lips in a hungry kiss that draws an improper moan from my throat and sends the officiant scrambling.
“I, uh, now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride,” I hear him sputter in a rushed breath.
There’s a smattering of cautious applause. Gianni pulls away, his mask slamming back in place as he takes my hand and leads me back down the aisle. No one follows us as we exit the room. There’s no reception, only a few half-hearted well wishes as the doors close behind us.
I’m too dazed to question it.
Gianni says nothing as he leads me up the stairs, but I can read his body language like a manual. He’s vibrating with restrained energy. The last twenty-four hours have wound him dangerously tight, and denying himself earlier only knotted the coil. Now that I’m tied to him, with no recourseor reprieve, he’s going to let it snap and reveal a side I’ve never seen.
The demons are about to come out to play.
We’re nearly at the top when Anton comes rushing up behind us.
Gianni stills, his grip on my hand tightening. “I thought I asked not to be disturbed.”
“You did, but this can’t wait.” He hesitates, his gaze darting between us. “It’s important, Gianni. You need to take care of this immediately.”
The muscles in Gianni’s neck tense as he stares nails into the older man. “Fine.” Turning, he releases my hand and drags his thumb across my cheek. “Wait for me in the last room on the left. We have a long night ahead of us.”
I watch them talk in hushed tones as they walk back down the stairs, then disappear down another unfamiliar hallway. I know I should wait in the room like he told me to, but the longer I stand there, the angrier I get.
I meant what I said last night. There can’t be any more secrets and half-truths. I’m in this with him as an equal or not at all.
